Kaleidoscope City is a new 400 x 400 meter urban prototype for the Songjiang district designed around the promotion of social well-being. Studies show that neighborliness, whether in conflict or friendship offers benefits for health and well-being. Diverging from standard models and their modernist origins, “K-City” envisions a variagated framework for social life that fosters casual social engagement in the everyday through a diversity of intermeshed urban spaces and living arrangements.

Social spaces are scaled for a diverse array of community activities. A crenellated edge between public and private spaces introduces a sense of ambiguity and exposure between public and private life. Density and proximity to ammenities together ensure that pedestrian traffic will remain on the street. The proposal combines the density of a Xiaochu with the nuanced urban spaces of the Lilong. Flexibility in the arrangement and provision of housing units and types ensures adaptability to China’s diverse and changing demographics.